


Aftereffects

by ToMarsAndBeyond3



Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: F/F, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-01 20:09:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17250581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToMarsAndBeyond3/pseuds/ToMarsAndBeyond3
Summary: Blackwing leaves nasty scars on it's victims, and trying to heal is an impossible feat.





	Aftereffects

**Author's Note:**

> Something from the DGHDA 2018 Gift Exchange. Might continue maybe????

Todd has never been sure exactly how to react to Dirk; no one was, really. He was an odd man, too loud when he needed to quiet down and too quiet when their surroundings were loud. But there were moments when Todd found he didn't need to react at all, he just needed to exist. 

This was one of those moments.

Todd's fingers interlaced with Dirk's, both stained with the faint discoloration of blood having dried on their skin. Todd's eyes traced the scars left on Dirk's body, ones that almost seemed to to trail up all the way from his navel to his neck. They congregated around the neck area, forming the gruesome imagery of a frog that had been dissected and crudely sewn back up again. If Todd closed his eyes he could see the state of the man when they had found him, huddled in the corner of a cell and unresponsive.

He had woken up a few times, but each had been marred with a heavy stench of drugs. Minute after minute passed and more of them were pumped into Dirk's system to keep him out of pain; now all there was left for Todd to do was wait for it to wear off.

Todd reached out, brushing hair from Dirk's eyes. He looked so tranquil, but Todd hated to see him surrounded by the stark white of the hospital.

Dirk made a sound in his sleep, and his head turned to lean into Todd's hand. His eyes were still closed, but Todd could see the rising signs of Dirk beginning to teeter on the edge of consciousness. The edges of Todd's lips tried to tip up in a sick recreation of a smile, his eyes drooped in an awful sadness that clutched his chest in a tight grip and didn't let go.

Dirk made another noise, his eyes trying to open. It looked like a struggle of the ages, Dirk desperately trying to force his eyes open as the morphine kept them closed. 

“Shh.” Todd let go of Dirk's hand, rubbing small, repetitive circles on Dirk's cheek as he managed a whine. “You're not there, we got you out man.”

Dirk responded with another whine, but his hand rested against Todd's and held it to his cheek. Todd could feel the trembling that was sending shockwaves of tremors and terror through Dirk's body, and he did his best to mumble quiet reassurances.

Todd didn't stop Dirk from the panic, nor did he try to pull him out of the fear. Todd couldn't do much more for him than be there.

“Todd?” Dirk's voice was barely audible, and if Todd hadn't been paying attention he would have mistaken it for the whispering of the breeze at the open window. Todd smiled again as he tried to knock the sadness out of his eyes, resuming his circles on Dirk's cheek.

“Hey.”

“Todd.” Dirk's grip on Todd's hand tightened. “Todd. You can't be here.”

“It's a hospital,” Todd whispered. “We aren't in Blackwing. You're okay.”

“No.” Dirk's eyes shone with tears, making Todd sigh. He really, truly didn't believe it did he?

“We're just home, in Seattle.” Todd kept his voice quiet and soft. “Promise, everything is chill. It's okay.”

Dirk closed his eyes, shutting them tightly. Todd watched a few tears fall despite that, and after a moment he sighed.

He would get in trouble if he had to, but Dirk couldn't be alone.

He slowly climbed into the bed, laying on top of the covers. Gently he draped his arm over Dirk, the oversized flannel brushing Dirk's face. Once he got a hold of him, Todd pulled him closer, letting Dirk hide in his shoulder.

“It's okay,” Todd repeated.

It would be okay.

___

“Tina, not now.” Farah laid her face on the col surface of the hospital cafe table, hoping that the smell of chemicals could ground her.

“Nope.” Tina was resting against Farah, an attempt being made to hold her. Farah, in all her anxiety for someone to find out that she was her weakness, let her despite it.

Farah was not clean.

Her clothes were still covered in blood and ash from an exploding building, bandages wrapped around her from the hospital staff. Her right hand was torn up from a gun that had decided to backfire, clumps of blood in her hair that didn't belong to her. It had been a fight to get Dirk out of that awful place safe and alive, and damn it if Farah wouldn’t go back and do it all again.

“Fine,” she mumbled, leaning her head on Tina's shoulder as she sat up. “Thanks for being here.”

“No problem Ninja-Minja. Minja Limja. Limbo brono. Love of my life. Homeslice. Brospeharino. Solitaire playing-”

“Tina.”

“Fine.”

Oh great, now Farah felt bad.

She sighed, turning and forcing Tina off of her. She didn’t push her away though, and Tina was suddenly facing Farah face to face as she was sat on her lap. Farah’s face buried in Tina’s shoulder, and slowly but surely her arms came up to wrap her in an embrace.

“This is shit,” Farah mumbled. “I hate the fucking government.”

“Don’t worry.” Tina tried to make her voice as soft as possible. “I’m sure the government is shit anyway.”

“That’s the point!”

“Whoops.”

“Nerd.”

“Dork.”

Farah felt the ends of her lips try to pull up; she couldn’t smile now, could she? Was that inappropriate? But she liked Tina, they were dating, she was allowed to smile. But if she did smile, would Tina think she was coming off too strongly? What if she didn’t even like her, maybe she was just humoring her. That made sense, Farah was so-

Flustered.

Tina had leaned forward, bringing them both into a kiss. Farah’s face felt hot, but Tina was too. She was right there, and the way she leaned against her…

Yes, okay, Farah could focus. Totally.

Her focus however was short lived, broken by commotion in a nearby hall. There were sounds of panic, yelling, and it forced Farah to her feet. Was Dirk faring okay?

The answer was yes, though she wondered only about his physical state; mentally was another story. Dirk wasn’t the cause of the sounds, thankfully, but the reilief lasted a few moments before Farah realized who it was.

The Rowdy Three had finally arrived, Amanda and Vogel having been missing from the group for days. As soon as it was mentioned that an idea was brewing of saving Dirk from Blackwing, the two young Rowdies had gone off on their own. They appeared now with a near unconscious Martin, a tired looking Gripps, and Cross was entirely and completely passed out. The hospital staff seemed panicked, but seemed they knew what they were doing. Amanda’s eyes caught Farah, and she looked like she could have passed out herself with the relief on her face.

“Oh, fuck man.” Amanda passed Martin to Vogel, who in turn had to give him to the hospital staff however unwilling he may have been to do so.

“Hey, shit.” Farah pulled Amanda in for a hug. “Amanda, oh my god.”

“Oh my god.”

“You're okay, I can't believe-”

“Well.” Amanda pulled back a little. “I mean, sort of.”

Oh great.

“What does that mean?” Farah narrowed her eyes. They were fine! Everyone was fine…

“That uh, weirdo gun guy was chasing us. Don't know where he went.”

Farah stared at Farah for a long moment, watching her, debating what to say. Finally, after consideration, she landed on the only possible option.

“Shit.”


End file.
